


Together in the Drift

by round_robin



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, First Meeting, First Time, Not A Happy Ending, Pregnancy, Vignettes, canon character death, personal head canon, vingnette format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 09:17:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/round_robin/pseuds/round_robin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their Jaeger may be old, but she was solid. Just like they were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together in the Drift

**Author's Note:**

> A few things (okay, maybe a lot of things).
> 
> First off: this world is very well built and well documented. I made liberal use of the Pacific Rim Wiki to check things such as character's height and weight. I know that it says Sasha and Aleksis were prison guards before the war... but my head canon makes me happier.
> 
> Sasha was a dancer who broke her toe before an audition with the Russian Ballet, thus ruining her dreams. Aleksis was the boxing champion of the Russian Army and won a silver in the Olympics before they were suspended for the Kaiju War. They met at the Academy and got married shortly after, because they were so fucking compatible it made everyone's heads spin. This head canon makes me happy and I'm keeping it.
> 
> Secondly: I'd like to explain a few of my stylistic choices. A lot of the words (specifically tech words and jargon) used in Pacific Rim are new, and therefore I see them as proper nouns and capitalized them accordingly. That's why you'll randomly see Drop in a sentence. I know it feels wrong, but I decided this is how I wanted to write about this world. I wanted everyone to be aware that it is intentional. I also chose to italicize their conversations "inside the Drift" because this felt more natural for me.
> 
> Thirdly: the ending is sad. This is your warning.

1.

They saw each other across the Kwoon. It was the second day of Academy training: finding Drift compatible partners. Jaeger Bushido was still in the refining phase and Marshal Stacker Pentecost was there to observe how the model was working. Since conventional wisdom suggested that similar body types would fight in similar ways, they weren’t even in the same line.

Sasha reached the front first. When the trainer went to announce her first partner, she silenced him with a flick of her hand. Arm extended out, she pointed across the room. “I want him.”

It took Aleksis a second to understand that she meant him. Before anyone could raise an objection, he nodded. “I’m game.”

The trainer eyed them both. He had nearly a meter on her, and about fifty kilos according to their stats. He turned to Pentecost for the final word and the Marshal nodded.

It was the most exhilarating fight of Aleksis’ life. Better than his silver medal boxing match. As soon as he thought of a move, she countered it and sent another his way. Counter, attack; counter, attack. They went forever. Or at least, it seemed like forever. Halt was finally called and they both stopped mid-maneuver, their eyes still locked.

The Kwoon was silent for the longest time. Finally, Pentecost’s soft but stern voice said: “Get them in a handshake test.”

 

2.

Even with their height difference, they fell into step on their way to the simulator room.

Hooked into the Pons, his mind blanked for a few long seconds before being filled with hers. All her dreams and hopes. She’d always wanted to be a member of the Russian Ballet, but a broken toe a few weeks before the audition put that dream on hold, perhaps forever. She still danced beautifully. He could see her dancing in front of the mirrors, strong and smooth, like she was meant to do it.

He could feel her in his mind as well, looking at all his training. Every bloody knuckle and black eye. The Russian Army Boxing Championships, then the Silver hanging around his neck under the five rings. Bliss.

If you asked them, it was over too soon. They came out of the handshake and found each other’s eyes again. It came as no surprise when the J-Tech man said: “That’s the strongest Neural Handshake I’ve ever seen. Even compared to identical twins. You guys have your partner.”

 

3.

Aleksis wasn’t sure who was following whom, all he knew was that his harness released and he fell into step with Sasha like they’d been doing it all their lives.

The dark of a dorm room (her room, his room, he couldn’t tell and didn’t care) closed around them. The lock clicked and she was in his arms, nails biting his skin, teeth grabbing his lips.

“I knew.” she whispered as she undid her belt.

“And they didn’t.” he said. He barely needed to hold her. With the way her legs clamped around his hips, he didn’t think anything could part them.

“You dance beautifully,” he said. Even though he knew she hadn’t danced in years. Even though he’d never really seen her dance, this was something he knew in his very soul.

“You move like a panther when you box,” she whispered. Her lips brushed his ear and the words shivered down through him.

He couldn’t say how it happened—one moment his belt was firmly latched, and the next it wasn’t—but she had his cock in her hand and somehow her trousers were on the floor. When she lowered herself down, he cried out at the tight, warm squeeze around him. He sat them down on the bed before he could fall down, and gripped her hips. His intension was to try and drive a bit, but she kept at the ideal pace, almost as if he’d set it himself.

Soon enough, he screamed into her neck. Burying his face in the oh-so-soft skin, he wrapped his arms tight around her and her fingers came to tangle in his hair. Their breath fell into sync and everything grew quiet.

He felt Sasha start to move off his lap. Wrapping his arms around her hips, he helped her disengage and lay them both down on the bed. They pulled off the rest of their clothes and settled under the covers.

“I know you are too much woman for me.” he whispered into her hair. Her cheek against his chest, he could feel her lips moving into a frown. “I also know,” he said “that I am not a strong enough man to resist you.”

He felt her smile now and held her closer.

 

4.

Their country was a large one, filled with many different peoples and beliefs, yet there was one belief they all shared: Hold Russia. They’d held Russia during the Great War, they’d held Russia during the Second World War, they they’d hold it during the Kaiju War.

Their Jaeger may be old, but she was solid. Just like they were. For six years, they held Russia’s Pacific coast. Six Kaiju came, six Kaiju died. And they endured.

After every Drop, every kill, and every broken record, they’d stumble out of the Conn-Pod and into each other’s arms, desperate to connect their bodies the way their minds were.

Rangers who only fucked after they dropped were jokingly referred to as _Drift sexual._ That wasn’t the case with Sasha and Aleksis. Their sex life didn’t hinge on the need to feel each other after the Drift, it was enhanced by it.

With every new Drop, they became closer and close, until the day Aleksis could barely tell where he ended and she began. It was glorious.

By the time the program was circling the drain and they were transferred to Hong Kong for one last shot, Aleksis knew in his heart that there was nothing he and Sasha didn’t know about each other. There was nothing they could—or would even want—to hide.

 

5.

Sasha was hiding something from him. He could feel it, stronger than he’d ever felt anything.

Maybe it was fear. With death creeping closer with the seconds on the war clock, perhaps she didn’t want to throw them off by bringing her fears to light. This would be normal and expected… for anyone who was not Sasha.

From their first fight, there were no secrets. No lies. No need for it. But every time he looked into her eyes, he saw it. Saw all the things she never needed to say, and the one thing she wouldn’t dare tell him. That was new.

One night, as they lay half asleep, primed for the Kaiju alarm to go, Aleksis whispered “Every thing is alright, yes?”

It never used to be a question.

Her smooth face brushed against his chest in a nod. “Of course,” she said.

“You would tell me?” That never used to be a question either.

Another nod. “Of course.”

 

6.

Cherno Alpha’s Conn-Pod was well secured. Located in her chest, she was designed to keep her pilots safe while they used her tough exterior as a battering ram. But now long claws and powerful arms had ripped their way through and they were drowning. The Unsinkable Kaidonovskys, who’d held the second longest coast for the longest time, were dying.

The rip in the top of the Conn-Pod was now gushing water. The crushed hull kept it from becoming a geyser, but it wasn’t exactly a trickle. Still connected through the Neural Handshake, Aleksis’s fear filled Sasha. This was quite possibly the first time she’d felt it like this. Yes, he’d been unsure before, cautious, even anxious bordering on panic, but his fear had never screamed out at her. One thought blared in his head _My Sasha is going to die and there is nothing I can do to save her_.

Somehow—she couldn’t explain it—this calmed her.

Reaching out through their connection, she let her calm pour over his as more water filled the pod. _My Aleksis,_ her mind whispered to him. Then, she released the flood of thoughts she’d been keeping back.

They say it’s impossible to keep anything from the Drift, but she had. She knew it was wrong and yet she couldn’t let him know this. Now, they had nothing left to lose and he had a right to these answers. The torrent of thoughts rushed through him, and his fear vanished.

 

7.

Aleksis suddenly felt the hot, uncomfortable push of vomit clawing up his throat. He lurched over the toilet bowl, his body so much smaller than usual. Being in Sasha’s skin didn’t jar him—that always happened when they went deep.

Stomach empty (though the nausea remained) in her memories, Aleksis stood up. His small hand came to rest over her stomach. Warmth filled his chest, followed quickly by a pang of fear that went through his very bones. _What if I die? We’ll never meet._ That thought changed in a blink. _If I tell Aleksis, he won’t let us fight…_

As he pulled himself out of the memory, he reached out for her. _You’re right,_ his mind whispered. _I wouldn’t have let us._

_But now I’ve killed us all._

_Better that we die so others may endure to save the world._

_Our family will never live._

He could feel the blue tinge of sadness creeping from her to him. He fought it off and reached for her, holding them close. _You are my family._

The water filled the Conn-Pod. Together in the Drift, they held each other until the world slipped away and only they remained.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I fell for Sasha and Aleksis harder than I've ever fallen for any OTP since Lois and Fricking Clark. I was really hung up on Herman and Newt (because: duh) but it was always a goal to write a Sasha and Aleksis story. Thanks for reading.


End file.
